


An Invisible Man Sleeping In Your Bed

by HarveyWallbanger



Series: Hanna Is Not Fan-Wanking Disguised As a Story [5]
Category: Hanna Is Not A Boy's Name
Genre: Gen, Hanna and Zombie- talkin' about their relationship, Hanna gets beaten up by a ghost- again, Hanna's mysterious past is mysterious, fan-wanking disguised a story, possibly unsettling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-06
Updated: 2012-04-06
Packaged: 2017-11-03 04:19:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/377123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HarveyWallbanger/pseuds/HarveyWallbanger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Worth keeps telling him 'No ghosts', but Hanna likes a challenge.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Invisible Man Sleeping In Your Bed

**Author's Note:**

> I am not Tessa Stone, and this school is not Tessa Stone. The title comes, of course, from The Ghostbusters' theme song. Do not bust your own ghosts; leave it to the professionals. You know who to call.

Something that I've realized about Hanna is that telling him he can't do something is the best way to make him want to do it. He doesn't do it be contrary, or irritating; I think he just likes the challenge. So, it came as no surprise to me that when a co-worker of his said this:  
"A friend of mine thinks her house might be haunted."  
his response was:  
"Really? You know, I kind of know about this stuff. If she wants, I could check it out…"  
Even though Worth has told him, on numerous occasions:  
"Did I fucking stutter? 'No ghosts' means 'No fucking ghosts!'"  
When I said:  
"Worth was pretty clear about you needing to avoid ghosts."  
he replied:  
"It's probably just an electromagnetic field, or raccoons, or something. Besides, you'll be there with me."  
Of course, I would. While in theory there was nothing the two of us couldn't handle, considering what happened to him the last time Hanna encountered a ghost, I was still unsure. To my concerns, Hanna said:  
"It'll be fine. Also, I have this new rune I want to try out…"

"They know what to expect, right?"  
"Heather said that her friend went to stay at a hotel."  
"It's that bad?"  
"I guess it is. Heather said that she left a key in one of those fake rock things."  
"She must be pretty upset if she doesn't mind strangers coming into her house when she isn't even there to meet them."  
"From what Heather told me, she's pretty freaked-out."  
We drove the rest of the way in silence. At Hanna's request, Conrad was with us, but not looking all that pleased about it. It was his car, and he was driving, and I think he felt he was being used.  
Hanna looked at the piece of paper where his co-worker had written her friend's address. "This is the place," he said.  
Conrad parked the car in front of a small, square, pastel pink house on a street of many others. From the air, the neighborhood must have looked something like a box of snack cakes. We got out, and Hanna started poking around, looking for the key-hider; when he found it, he said, Ah-ha!  
"So, what do you want me to do?" Conrad asked, "Wait for the screams, and then go get Worth?"  
Hanna smiled. "Well, actually, I have sort of a surprise for you. I don't know if it'll work, but it doesn't hurt to try."  
Conrad looked skeptical, but also, pleasantly surprised. "Really? What is it?"  
"I've got to draw it on you."  
Conrad winced. "Really?"  
"That's the only way it'll work. Just on your hand, okay?"  
"Fine."  
Hanna took out his marker, and drew a design on the back of Conrad's hand. For a moment, it glowed red.  
"What is it?"  
"It's sort of a temporary 'Look, I'm human' pass. You won't be able to hang around outside on a sunny day without turning into a pile of ash, but if it works, you'll be able to walk into strangers' homes."  
"How long does it last?"  
"I don't know. This is the first time I've tried it. When it runs out, the symbol will fade."  
Conrad looked down. "Thank you, Hanna."  
Hanna smiled. "Thank me when we know it works."  
Hanna unlocked the door. We walked into the house; first Hanna, then me, then Conrad, his eyes tightly closed and his shoulders up.  
"How does it feel?" Hanna asked Conrad.  
Conrad opened his eyes and assumed a more relaxed posture. "Kind of tingly. Is that the rune?"  
"No, I feel that, too," I said. There was a kind of charge to the air. Whether it was supernatural, or static electricity, I didn't know.  
"I asked Heather if her friend had had the place checked out for electromagnetic fields, but she said her friend couldn't really afford that kind of thing. Let's look around."  
"We shouldn't split up," Conrad said.  
"We're not splitting up. We can look around together."  
The house was small but tidy. The woman who lived there appeared to still be moving in; here and there, cardboard boxes were stacked against the wall.  
"I don't see any blood dripping from the walls," Conrad said. Absently, he ran his tongue over his fang.  
"I think it was more 'strange noises, and doors opening on their own' than 'blood dripping from the walls'."  
"Oh," said Conrad. I wondered if he were disappointed.  
"Wait," said Hanna, and held up his hand. From the upper level, there came a peculiar sound, like an old television being turned on. "Let's go upstairs," he said.  
"I can't believe she's letting us snoop around in here," Conrad said, as we want upstairs, "For all she knows, we could be thieves, or perverts, or thieving perverts."  
"It's different up here," Hanna said.  
If anything, it was significant to me for how quiet and still it was, nothing like the violent and chaotic energy I'd experienced at the theatre.  
"If there's anyone up here," Hanna said, "we're not going to hurt you. We just want to talk to you."  
The three of us stood motionless. For a moment, I could hear Hanna breathing, but nothing else. Slowly, though, I became aware of the odd sound we'd heard earlier. It was less acute, and fuller, like the boom of heavy bass. Now, the air seemed not just charged, but to positively vibrate.  
"Woah," Hanna said.  
"What is it?" Conrad and I said at the same time.  
"It's just-" he closed his eyes for a moment, " does anyone else feel really tired?"  
Conrad and I looked at each other, and said, "No."  
"I feel like I, I just want to sit down."  
I could feel the fine hairs on the back of my neck rising. I can't get goosebumps, so it was being caused by something external.  
Conrad looked at his arms, and then at me, "Do you-"  
"Yeah," I said, then, "Hanna, I think we should leave."  
"No, I'm pretty sure I know what's happening." He yawned, and closed his eyes again.  
The vibration of the air was intensifying, creating a liquid sensation that was disturbing to me in a way I couldn't quite place.  
"No. We're getting out of here. Conrad, help me with Hanna."  
Between the two of us, we got Hanna out of the house. By then, he was half-asleep, murmuring to himself. I got into the backseat of the car with him, and without being told, Conrad drove the car onto a street that I knew would get us to Worth's.  
"Hanna," I all but shouted, "Hanna. Can you hear me?"  
He responded, but I couldn't understand what he said. Gently, I smacked his cheek, and he frowned, but didn't wake.  
"What the hell is going on?" Conrad asked.  
"The house seemed to get some kind of charge from him, like he were a battery."  
"Oh. That's sort of what I thought was happening. And it couldn't do that to us because we're both dead. But, wait, what about his co-worker's friend? I'm assuming that this didn't happen to her."  
"Hanna's… different."  
"Different, how?"  
"I don't know how, exactly. I know you've noticed, though."  
"Yes, obviously, but there's what I notice, and what he chooses to tell me. He's not really been forthcoming with information about himself. He'd have told you more than he's told me. I mean, you're his, his partner. Right?"  
I wasn't sure how to answer that. 'Partner' has two connotations- one, casual, and another, much more intimate. Yes, it was true, in every sense, but I wasn't sure how much Hanna wanted people, even Conrad, to know. That he'd been so reserved with me emphasized his need to keep some things to himself.  
Conrad seemed to grasp something of the situation, because he let the question drop, and we didn't speak again until we'd reached Worth's clinic. It was very late, and I'd expected- well, I don't know what I'd expected- but it wasn't to see Worth and Lamont sitting quietly at Worth's desk, drinking tea and reading.   
Worth stood, nearly knocking over the ashtray on the desk. "Another fucking ghost?" He slapped his hand over his face. "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" He waved his arm- for once uncovered; pale and scarred. "Get him into the examining room. I'm coming."  
I set Hanna down on the table. By now, he'd stopped speaking, and seemed to be sleeping very deeply. Conrad stood off to the side, watching vigilantly, though nothing was happening.  
Worth came in, pulling on his lab coat. He pointed at Conrad. "You, out."  
Conrad crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh, fuck you!"  
"I'm not going to fucking argue with you. Just get the fuck out."  
Conrad looked at me. 'Please', I mouthed. He rolled his eyes, and left, closing the door behind him.  
"You can stay," Worth said, with what I can only call an attempt at a non-threatening smile, "Next of kin. Now, what the fuck happened to him?"  
I told him about the job, and the theory Conrad and I held.  
"Yeah. Pretty common occurrence," he took Hanna's pulse, and then opened Hanna's eyes, and shone a flashlight at them, "Of course, Hanna would be fucking stupid enough to risk it, anyway. All right, hand me that bag."  
I gave him the black bag I'd seen him open once before. From it, he took a prescription vial. "Sit him up."  
I did, and Worth opened the vial. From within it, came a faint blue light. Worth held it under Hanna's nose as though it contained smelling salts.  
"Any fucking time now," Worth muttered.  
Finally, Hanna inhaled deeply, shaking in my arms. I looked at Worth.  
"This always happens."  
"What is that stuff?"  
"A piece of his soul. That's what he told me, anyway. He made it seem like he was joking, but I'm inclined to believe him."  
"How did he take it out?"  
"He didn't tell me that."  
Hanna opened his eyes, and groaned softly. Worth replaced the vial's cap, and put it back into the bag.  
"Are you all right?" I asked Hanna.  
"Just a little drowsy."  
"Do you remember what happened?"  
He nodded.  
"Do you remember the bit where I told you not to fuck about with ghosts?" Worth shouted.  
"Yeah. I know."  
"If you were diabetic, and I told you not to eat sugar, would you go and stick your face in a fucking box of chocolates? No, you'd fucking listen to me, because I was talking fucking sense. You've got a health condition. It doesn't matter that no one knows exactly what the fuck it is; it's real, and you're going to kill yourself, if you keep on like this."  
"Okay."  
Worth snorted, but said nothing else about it. He checked Hanna's pulse again, and then wrote out a prescription for him.  
"What does this say?" Hanna took off his glasses, and tried to read it again. He handed the piece of paper to me.  
"Does that say 'Gatorade'?"  
"He needs to raise his electrolytes," he pointed at Hanna, "You need to raise your fucking electrolytes, or I'm going to have him drag you back here so that I can strap you down on that table with a fucking IV bag."  
"On the way home, let's get some Gatorade," Hanna said, and shivered, "I hate needles."  
I helped Hanna off of the table, and took his hand as we walked to the front. Worth smirked, and looked as though he were going to say something, but lost interest once he saw Conrad sitting in his chair, reading his book, and drinking what I assume was blood from his mug. Lamont with sitting next to Conrad, also reading.  
"That's very fucking nice," Worth said, "I go away for five minutes, and you let this asshole sit on my furniture." He smacked Lamont on the back of the head. Lamont chuckled, but didn't react otherwise. "You," he said to Conrad, "Get the fuck out of my chair. And give me back my book. You can keep the mug."  
Conrad tossed the book on the floor, and stood up. "Your chair's uncomfortable, anyway. Bye, Lamont," he said, and walked out the front door.  
"Thank you," Hanna said to Worth.  
"Yeah, yeah," Worth muttered, picking up his book, "Come back in a couple of days, so I can check you out. Bring your friend, too," he waved in my direction, "he needs to hear what I'll have to say, as well. And bring that fucker, Conrad; I want to have words with him."  
"Just words?" Lamont smiled, and said into his book.  
We left, to the sound of Worth screaming at Lamont.

Conrad took us to the only supermarket still open, and then dropped us off at the apartment. We thanked him, and went inside.  
"So, no more ghosts, I guess," Hanna said, "That's really going to cut the number of cases we can take."  
"Not necessarily. The ghost that we encountered tonight couldn't harm me; I could have dealt with it, if I'd known how. Next time, we'll do more research, learn the nature of the haunting, and come up with a plan. It wouldn't hurt if you included Conrad, too. I think he wants to help. He seemed really pleased by the rune you made for him."  
"You've really given this a lot of thought."  
"Don't look so surprised."  
"I'm not surprised; just happy."  
"Good."  
He looked down. "Um, you probably have a lot of questions, after being with me in Worth's examining room."  
"Yes, I suppose I do. I'm not going to make you answer them, though. All I ask is that you tell me anything I need to know in order to help you."  
Hanna sighed. "You might find out some things about me that you didn't want to know."  
"I could find out some things about myself that I didn't want to know. You've been good to me, Hanna, and I try to be good to you. Whatever has happened in the past is over, and I think that all that matters now is what we make of the present."  
"Let's sit down."  
We did, at the edge of the bed. "I'm going to tell you a story," he said, "It's kind of a long story, and it's not a very nice one…"


End file.
